Thai Curtains

Spent a substantial part of the weekend hanging our new curtains in the living and dining rooms. Christ, what a struggle that was. Seven windows, two brackets per window, three screws per bracket equals 42 holes that had to be drilled, plugged and screwed into. Not to mention ensuring that the two brackets on each window were actually level and not so far apart that our collapsible curtain rods from Pottery Barn actually, well, collapsed. I'm thinking of starting a sweepstake on how long it'll be before the cats start clawing at them and bring one down. They look great - the cranberry colour matches our new sofa perfectly - although they've completely changed the character of both rooms (they now look much more wintery).

Had Francis round for dinner last night for the first time since we arrived - the annual pay review is just around the corner so I thought I'd better start doing some sucking up (just kidding!). Cooked my famous spicy prawn and lemon grass soup followed by Thai green curry - Francis seemed to approve, although he may have just been being polite. Guess I'll have to wait and see how big my bonus is.

Comments

[Sunil Mathur on 27.10.03 at 06:13]

Hey Phil. How you doing?

Just a quick hello from one of your old mates in Blighty. I appreciate that you’re too busy to reply to our regular emails, so I thought I’d come to The Source, as it were. That way I don’t take up more of your time than is necessary, right? I mean, you post here all the time.

Hope you and Mandy are OK. Bit cold here in England at the moment. Clocks just changed, so was up far too early this morning. Do they change the clocks in Bermuda? I was planning on raking the lawn this week, and then I might tidy my study. You up to anything interesting? I suppose you’ll post it here if you are.

Anyway, must dash. Nice talking to you.

[Jonathan Seaton on 27.10.03 at 06:28]

Hey Phil.

Hello from me too. Yes, the weather has turned cold here in England but we are all enjoying the beautiful Autumn foliage.

Must be nice to be in Bermuda right now, with so much to do.

Hey Sunil, great to hear that you are taking care of your lawn so well. How is the rest of the house coming along?

Great to hear from you.

[Sunil Mathur on 27.10.03 at 06:39]

Well, it's coming along fine, thanks for asking. We're having a couple of trees taken down in the back garden soon. I think this will benefit the lawn even more than the raking. It was a little shady.

You're right about the beautiful autumn foliage. I heard on the news that this is due to the very dry summer followed by a bit of rain in early autumn and then lots of sun. Apparently this increases the amount of pigment in the leaves by some mechanism.

Have you had to help out in the garden recently, or tidy anything?

[Jonathan Seaton on 27.10.03 at 06:46]

Good news about the trees been taken down - it is common for trees of moderate size or above to be responsible for increasing the hydration stress experienced by grass in their root catchment area. I am sure this will help your grass a lot. Have you tried spiking the lawn too?

Fortunately I haven't had to help out too much around here - in the garden or in the house. It's nice to be able to relax a little more.

Actually, Carissa and I carved pumpkins in preparation for Halloween yesterday - are you planning to celebrate also?

[Sunil Mathur on 27.10.03 at 06:57]

I have tried spiking the lawn, and even brushing sand into the newly created holes to prevent them from collapsing. This is very tiring work, as my soil is heavily compacted clay, and I have not yet completed this task. I will also need to apply some autumn fertilizer this month, in order to thicken up the roots of the grass.

I did not realise it was Halloween yesterday! Ho ho! Did you spot my little joke there? There are not many children where I live now, so nobody calls round trick or treating. I will probably just watch The Simpsons on my television.

[Jonathan Seaton on 27.10.03 at 07:08]

Yes, spiking the lawn is supposed to be long, hard work. It is impressive that you find time to keep in contact with me despite your agricultural endeavours. There is a great website about fertilizers that you might want check out - it has lots of information that might help you select the correct grade and constituents.

If you need help with the spiking and the brushing then I would be happy to come over for the weekend and assist you. I would not want to see your lawn suffer this winter.

Excellent joke about Halloween! However, I suspect that this was due to an ambiguity in my sentence construction - I meant to say that Carissa and I had been carving pumpkins, in preparation for Halloween, yesterday.

[Sunil Mathur on 27.10.03 at 07:33]

Yes, making fun of insignificant spelling and grammatical errors in emails is enjoyable, isn’t it?

I actually own How to be a Gardener, Books One and Two, by Alan Titchmarsh, and I believe they include adequate detail on the subject of fertilizer. I am not sure why the work was split into two books. I suspect the publishers thought that anyone who was planning to read the work anyway would buy Book One because it’s a Titchmarsh book. But the subject isn't interesting enough or the instructions complex enough to justify two volumes and I have to wonder how many people would have bought Book Two if they hadn’t got it as a Christmas present.

Speaking of which, the shops are stocking Christmas merchandise quite early this year, don’t you think?

[Phil on 27.10.03 at 07:46]

Ha ha. Funny, boys, funny.

[Jonathan Seaton on 27.10.03 at 07:51]

I should have known that you would have been so thorough and dedicated in your garden care duties.

Yes, Christmas is a great time for the publishing industry. An interesting related fact is that I believe that they accrue somewhere in the region of 50% to 75% of their annual profits during the last quarter of the year's sales.

I do believe that you are correct in your observation of this year's Christmas displays coming considerably earlier than previous years'. I must admit that I do find it rather offensive and crass to be subjected to such 'festive' demonstrations so soon. There is considerable virtue in appropriate timing that I feel some stores neglect in the pursuit of the almighty pound.

Shame.

What are your Christmas plans this year?

[Sunil Mathur on 27.10.03 at 07:59]

I feel it is you who should be ashamed, Jonathan. Phil has graciously taken the time to sarcastically commend us for contacting him, and yet you prattle on about Christmas as if one of your oldest friends scarcely existed.

I am seriously considering whether you are still welcome to toil in my garden.

[Jonathan Seaton on 27.10.03 at 08:17]

Gosh, Sunil, you are right.

I am ashamed.

I just hope that my thoughtless commentary does not prejudice Phil in the future, and that he feels he can still send us one-line sentences every two weeks.

On a personal note, I would like to appeal to you to continue to entertain the prospect of me working in your garden. Your grass is of the highest calibre and it would be a pleasure and an honour to be able to labour on such a canvas.